30Oct15

China naval chief says minor incident could spark war in South China Sea

China's naval commander told his U.S. counterpart that a minor incident could
spark war in the South China Sea if the United States did not stop its
"provocative acts" in the disputed waterway, the Chinese navy said on Friday.

Admiral Wu Shengli made the comments to U.S. chief of naval operations
Admiral John Richardson during a video teleconference on Thursday,
according to a Chinese naval statement.

The two officers held talks after a U.S. warship sailed within 12 nautical miles
of one of Beijing's man-made islands in the contested Spratly archipelago on
Tuesday.

China has rebuked Washington over the patrol, the most significant U.S.
challenge yet to territorial limits China effectively claims around its seven
artificial islands in one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

"If the United States continues with these kinds of dangerous, provocative
acts, there could well be a seriously pressing situation between frontline forces
from both sides on the sea and in the air, or even a minor incident that sparks
war," the statement paraphrased Wu as saying.

"(I) hope the U.S. side cherishes the good situation between the Chinese and
U.S. navies that has not come easily and avoids these kinds of incidents from
happening again," Wu said.

Speaking earlier, a U.S. official said the naval chiefs agreed to maintain
dialogue and follow protocols to avoid clashes.

Scheduled port visits by U.S. and Chinese ships and planned visits to China
by senior U.S. Navy officers remained on track, the official said.

"None of that is in jeopardy. Nothing has been canceled," said the official.

Unplanned Encounters

Both officers agreed on the need to stick to protocols established under the
Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES).

"They agreed that it's very important that both sides continue to use the
protocols under the CUES agreement when they're operating close to keep
the chances for misunderstanding and any kind of provocation from occurring,"
the U.S. official said.

Indeed, Wu said he believed the Chinese and U.S. navies had plenty of scope
for cooperation and should both "play a positive role in maintaining peace and
stability in the South China Sea".

A U.S. Navy spokesman stressed Washington's position that U.S. freedom of
navigation operations were meant to "protect the rights, freedoms, and lawful
uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international
law".

Chinese warships followed the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, as it
moved through the Spratlys on Tuesday. The U.S. Navy is operating in a
maritime domain bristling with Chinese ships.

While the U.S. Navy is expected to keep its technological edge in Asia for
decades, China's potential trump card is sheer weight of numbers, with dozens
of naval and coastguard vessels routinely deployed in the South China Sea,
security experts say.

China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan
and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne
trade passes every year.

Next week, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam and Singapore,
while Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan will attend a meeting of
Southeast Asian defense ministers in Malaysia that U.S. Defense Secretary
Ash Carter is also due to attend.

Court Setback

Separately, China suffered a legal setback on Thursday when an arbitration
court in the Netherlands ruled it had jurisdiction to hear some territorial claims
the Philippines has filed against Beijing over the South China Sea.

The court said additional hearings would be held to decide the merits of the
Philippines' arguments. China has not participated in the proceedings and
does not recognize the court's authority in the case.

Manila filed the case in 2013 to seek a ruling on its right to exploit the South
China Sea waters in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as
allowed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS).

China, facing international legal scrutiny for the first time over its assertiveness
in the South China Sea, would neither participate in nor accept the case at the
arbitration court, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said on Friday.

Liu told reporters the case would not affect China's sovereign claims in the
seas.

The Philippine government welcomed the court decision.

Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, Manila chief's lawyer in the case, said the
ruling represented a "significant step forward in the Philippines' quest for a
peaceful, impartial resolution of the disputes between the parties and the
clarification of their rights under UNCLOS".

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